According to the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board, the attorney representing the Gracedale Inititatice Committee has no malpractice insurance. Larry Otter, who has filed three claims for attorney fees in connection with the Gracedale saga, makes this disclosure on the state website.When he testified in his first claim aginst me for attorney fees, Otter admitted, in response to questions from Judge Baratta, that there was no retainer agreement or anything in writing concerning his representation of his pro-initiative clinets. Pennsylvania Disciplinary rules require attorneys to inform new clients, in writing, if they have no malpractice insurance.
Did he disclose he has no insurance to the Gracedale Inititative Committee? Did he disclose this to the union that hired him? Did he inform the Gracedale Initiative Committee that he was also representing a union's interests?
In 2008, Otter was sanctioned by the U.S. District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania with $33,928.05 in fees and $1,508.86 in costs "for relentlesslypursuing baseless litigation." He was later cited for contempt when he failed to pay.
In 2009, Otter was sanctioned by the Commonwealth Court with $80,000 in attorney fees and costs for vexatious, dilatory and obdurate conduct.
Otter's current claim for attorney fees from me is just another example in the career of a man who pursues baseless claims.
39 comments:
Hey pot, meet kettle!!
Bernie once again stoops to another low! Look who is calling the kettle black, a disbarred attorney! SHAME ON YOU!
How would your Father feel about what you are doing Bernie? You are disgracing him.
I bet I know who wrote these 3 comments.
Really, Bernie, by posting this it plainly places you on the same level as this low life aquatic rodent. You're coming off like a stupid politician that sends out mean-spirited mailings near the end of their campaign.
Just saying.
Halarious!
BullVon, or should I say Bullshit,
In case you have not heard, I have a constitutional right to confront my accuser, and that is what I am doing. He has given TV interviews comparing this to Bonusgate and somberly suggesting people could go to jail. He has told both papers that this is criminal behavior. He has tried me in the press, and many people have already convicted me, without a shred of evidence.
What these people, including the reporters, fail to note is that Otter has a history of this kind of barratry. He';s been held in contempt for failing to pay sanctions assessed against him. He's unable even to procure malpractice insurance, and his previous testimony to Judge Baratta reveals he failed to disclose that to his clients in writing, as required by Disciplinary rules.
He has made a career of pursuing baseless claims, and people who judge me should know that.
Just sayin.
"How would your Father feel about what you are doing Bernie? You are disgracing him."
My father would not tolerate this nonsense for a second. I am honoring him by refusing to be intimidated or muzzled by bullies who try everything to shut me up. I think he might just be pleasantly surprised that his son did something right.
It's always good to know your enemy Bernie, now destroy him quickly!
Larry Otter has destroyed himself by representing the rat pack
I also have a constitutional right to burn the American Flag or praise Hitler or other abhorrent actions. Sometimes wrestling with a pig makes one no better the pig.
One of the features of your blog that makes it appealing to me is that you are not generally mean. Sarcastic, perhaps, not hurtful. I can get mean or hurtful just about everywhere else.
You are lowering yourself to the level of a clam smashing rat.
Just saying.
It seems that this man lacks not only malpractice insurance, but also common sense, and basic human decency.
Due to his posting on this blog site, I became the target of obsessive hatred, lies, and personal cruelty.
Over the last 2 years, my business had been bashed by anonymous cowards who took pleasure in bullying from behind a PC, and then further destroyed by a pack of vindictive West Easton Borough zoning board members and elected council members.
But in the end, I prevailed in my legal matters, because no one had anymore tricks to pull out of their bag. My success, and the conclusion of all legal matters became final a few weeks ago. I breathed a huge , long sigh of relief after two years of incessant torture.
But thanks to Mr. Otter, my nightmare started all over again this week. Thank you Larry, for you have no clue as to what you have done.
I hope you fail miserably in court and are sent packing, away from this county, never to return again.
You are a disgusting excuse for a human being
The Otter is digging for more clams. Instead he will get pinched in the crotch by a crawfish.
Larry is proud of himself;no one else is.
BullVon, I am not going to repeat myself, as you have done. If you ever find yourself the target of an orchestrated media campaign designed to make you look like a criminal, and if your sole crime is to have stood up for your beliefs, I's like to see you blissfully ignore your accuser.
Just sayin.
Sort of what you, Angle and Stoffa have done to the good people trying to defend and protect Gracedale.
Those folks are not defending Gracedale. They're actually tearing it apart. You'll find that out sooner or later. My posts about the people I call Gracedale Goons have also been entirely accurate, unlike Otter's motion.
Hey Bernie, this new format sucks!
The "good folks defending Gracedale" have revealed themselves as bigots and cowards represented by one of sleaziest lawyers in the state. Real "good."
I agree with 2:44. Didn't you try this format before with the same complaints?
What do you think about Bill White's "Winning" column in this morning's MC? For the Gracedale Goons it was a reality check. They will most likely win the referendum but in the end Gracedale will lose. The crap about it being undercapitalized is a red herring. How many millions were spent by Stoffa's administration on the window project and chiller units? Those were MAJOR investments in Gracedale. So to accuse Stoffa of neglecting the facility is absurd. The reality is that over the next five years Gracedale will languish in mediocrity, continuing to lose market share and revenues in the process. The only hope for saving Gracedale was selling it. Short of that, the only way to turn the fortunes of the facility around are to enact all of the recommendations of the operational study done last year and MORE. Bring in a top-notch, no mercy management team. Privatize the laundry, housekeeping, maintenance and other services. Fully privatize food services. Provide financial incentives to employees for exceptional service to the patients. Cut staff where clearly warrented(i.e. houskeeping). Government overall does a crappy job of running any facility. VA hospitals are prime examples. But if this mob has their way and Gracedale stays under county ownership then run it the way is has to be run to survive. That is the only way to turn a LOSS into a WIN.
"Hey Bernie, this new format sucks!"
I had embedded comment format for a few days bc a glitch in blogger was preventing anonymous comments. I prefer commenting on a new page and have gone back to it.
Anonymous personal attacks will be deleted, along with comments complaining about the deletion. I have had enough.
anonymous 8:46
you got to be kidding? first of all the county payed over 1.5 million dollars for a new machine in the laudry only a few years back, so privitze the laundry? waste of more money! Dietary? New dishwaser, more wasted money?? this could go on and on, but if you privitze dept after dept, you are now a privte nursing home!! There you go with the sales.. people wake up dont let them privitize any dept. I saw that where i worked and it was a monstousity!!!
KEEP GRACEDALE UNDER COUNTY OPERATIONS. GET RID OF THE TOP ADMINISTRATORS AT THE COURTHOUSE!!!!
I agree with anon 8:46. Sections of gracedale should be privitized if it is to remain county owned. I still think it should be sold. The jail has privitized operations within its walls. It has to be done.
anon. 8:46 Mr. Stoffa has said the problem at Gracedale is the beds are not filled. Not dietary, laundry, or housekeeping.
Be honest. Stoffa has certainly said bes are unfilled, but pointed out all these other problems as well, especially when the report came out.
11:29 - spoken like a union bobblehead. The laundry is functioning at 35% capacity. What a joke! If a new machine was bought years ago it will only be more attractive to a comercial laundry operation. A company like HCSC could run it, do Gracedale's laundry and that of other facilities in the area. The county could lease it to them and get a cut of the profit. With the savings in bloated labor costs it would bring in net revenue for the county.
Dream on. If the county is forced to keep Gracedale they should privatize as many operations as possible to break even on this taxpayer black hole.
i thought gracedale was a non profit organization? what is all the worry about making money????
i'm not a bobblehead by the way, i don't sit a nod my head at meetings!!!
"i thought gracedale was a non profit organization?"
Gracedale is part of Northampton County government. It is not for-profit, but the County is losing money and the trend is that it is going to lose even more money. It is only a matter of time before quality of care declines.
Management of a nursing home the size of gracedale is no small feat, whether it is county run or if its private. There are a whole host of reasons why its profitability may vary from year to year. A blanket statement that the Stoffa administration is to blame, is a prime example of fiction without facts. Notice how the cost of gasoline has an effect on almost all commodities. Think about the commodities that are consumed at gracedale. Add in the cuts in medicaid, the decrease in the census at the facility, and you have a loss. And dont forget that each time a patient leaves the facility for acute treatment, the medicaid reimbursement is suspended until they return. In private facilities, they lay off as necessary without reasons. They make changes to their health insurance benefits as they see fit. Most do not offer a 401K with company match. They re-negotiate their supply contracts in order to save money. SOme share services for laundry. They have very few workers who are not in direct care. This is why it is foolish to hang on to the giant money eater
Just so everyone knows, I am taking a VERY HARD line on Gracedale comments from this point forward. One person has been defamed and her privacy has been invaded, merely for expressing opinions that differ from the Gracedale Goons. There have been some additional matters that cause me some concern. I will delete anything containing personal attacks on this topic, no matter how inoffensive it might seem.
I welcome different opinions, but no matter how well stated an opinion, it will be deleted if accompanied by the insults and name-calling that has become standard fare for the Gracedale Goons.
Save Gracedale!
Vote Yes
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